1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to apparatus and method for deterring vandalism by seizing a vandal's tool or weapon, such as a baseball bat used to damage or destroy roadside mailboxes.
2. Background Information
“Mailbox baseball” is a form of vandalism in which a passenger in a vehicle leans out and swings a bat at a mailbox as the car drives along the road, scoring if he hits the mailbox. Rural mailboxes are particularly susceptible to such vandalism, but the problem sometimes occurs in urban neighborhoods where the mailboxes are placed at curbside. Numerous inventors, handymen, and mailbox manufacturers have addressed this problem by providing impact-resistant mailboxes, and resilient or strengthened mailbox supports.
Albanesius, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,326, and Sullivan in U.S. No. Des 385,679, both show devices for protecting a post-mounted mail box against snow plow debris and vandalism. These devices are generally supported by the post and comprise an upstanding protective wall portion facing oncoming traffic.